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How to plan an unforgettable vacation without the involvement of travel agencies

In order to spend an unforgettable holiday in any country of the world, it is not necessary to contact the tour operator or the Agency – any independent travel will be many times more interesting than “on the ticket”. Passion.ru talked to seasoned travelers and found the main principles, following which you will be able to experience and benefit from his trip.
Why and where are you going?
This is perhaps the main point, having decided on which you will be able to plan everything else. Answer the question what attracts you: cities and museums, nature reserves and parks, shopping and entertainment, local delicacies and culinary traditions. Or do you even dream of a “vegetable” holiday and plan to spend the next two weeks on some exotic beach, which is known only to the locals? All this will help you to determine the key points and get the most impressions from the trip.

Check your calendar
One of the main points, which many tourists forget, but in vain. For example, you decide to go to a hot country and relax on the beach, but at this time there is still a rainy season, so it is likely to spend most of the holiday in the hotel, museums or bars. In addition, it may be that the sea has not yet warmed up, and the reserves are closed, and there are not many people in the city, so there is nothing much to do. Therefore, learn in advance about the climate of the country, about the schedule of institutions and the upcoming national holidays (so that it does not happen that you came to rest and get to some noisy celebration, like a carnival).

Gather information about the country and make an action plan
Even if you have chosen a destination that you have visited before, it will not be superfluous to find out what has changed in the country since your last stay, what laws have been introduced for tourists (sometimes this happens, what was allowed before, now was banned), what new places have opened and so on-so on. After all, perhaps before you were passing and did not have time to learn everything properly. Therefore, to this time the rest did not get crumpled, it is better to know everything in advance and prepare. And if you have chosen the country where you have never been, then you should start by studying (or even buying) a guide and determining the main places that you would definitely like to visit.

Next, you should clarify the program (for example, how many days of vacation you have planned, how many of them you are willing to spend on architecture and museums, what you plan to do in the remaining time, what you will have the city of arrival and departure, and so on). In addition, it is useful to clarify whether the season is there now, otherwise you will have to adjust your route, excluding those places where it will be difficult to get because of weather conditions.

Take care of accommodation and transportation
Decide what you want – to move into a hotel and a couple of weeks to forget about some everyday issues, or feel, even for a while, a resident of the country where you are going to go? If you value comfort, then you better choose the first option and look after a few hotels until you have studied all the reviews and understand which one suits you best. If you want to fully experience the culture and traditions of the country, it is much more appropriate to book an apartment and all household issues to decide on their own. Each of these options is interesting in its own way and allows you to see a particular city from different angles. Besides, think about how you plan to move – on foot, by public transport, by taxi or even rent a car? All these moments better to clarify in advance.

Sign the route by day
If you have decided on the direction and the main points of your route, then you need to make a clear program of action, including painting on the map all the places of your deployment. At the same time calculate how much time you need to get from one point to another, check the schedule of buses or trains, so that it did not happen that you missed a single transport and the other option will be only the next day (and you have everything planned out and there is no possibility to stay in a particular place). So check in advance all the details and do not forget about the time difference (and you never know what an embarrassment can happen). So you can estimate how much time you will have for each specific location and adjust your route if necessary.

Calculate your travel budget
It is clear that in your head you can imagine anything, but you need to compare the desired with the actual and estimate whether you have enough budget for vacation-dreams? Start by writing down the main expenses (tickets, visas, transportation, food, accommodation, medical insurance, tourist tax, etc.), and then add additional expenses (visiting museums and concerts, shopping, etc.). It is better to plan for it at least 10% of its main budget and leave part of the unforeseen expenses (because you can never predict what may happen to you on the trip).

Do not forget about tickets and visa
So we have reached the point where you need to buy a ticket and apply for a visa (unless, of course, you have it is not long-term). Why not do it in advance? First, when you n hands already have a clear plan of action, you already know what tickets (and what hotels) you need to book. And secondly, if you have a difficult route with a lot of crossings, it will be easier for you to focus on your plan to clearly understand how you will mix, where you will stop and so on. As for the hotels, it is better to book those that, if anything, you can safely cancel without paying a fine. And then with all printed tickets, armor and painted route you can go to the Consulate or visa center.

Think about individuality
While you were collecting information about the country where you would like to go, you probably have already imbued with the spirit and atmosphere of this place. Now it remains a matter of little: to determine what places you want to visit, what museums to look at, how to go shopping and what restaurants to try some interesting dishes. In addition, you can explore the sights not only near the place where you stay, but also in the surrounding area.

To optimize the process, you can conditionally divide all activities into day and evening and start thinking about your leisure time with the latter. Write down what kind of concerts, theaters, restaurants in the end, you would like to visit, find out whether you need to book tickets or tables in advance and specify the organizational moments. As for daytime entertainment, here at your service can be both shopping centers, museums and exhibitions, and visiting amusement parks, walking around the city, sightseeing or trips to other cities located near your place of stay. Try to make a plan of action in such a way that it affects your interests and Hobbies, and not the standard tips from the guides. After all, all people have their own idea of a perfect holiday, so why follow someone else’s templates?

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